Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.) has issued a blunt warning against President Donald Trump’s decision to put Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in charge of high-stakes foreign policy negotiations with Iran, Israel and Russia.
Tillis on Wednesday argued that the president’s selection of Kushner, who is his son-in-law, and Witkoff, a billionaire ally who made his fortune in real estate, “doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“Kushner and Witkoff are very accomplished business people,” he told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl at the Council on Foreign Relations. “I’m sure they’re good negotiators, but they’re not subject to Senate confirmation and they’re not subject to oversight. So hopefully they’ve got some adults in the room who are.”
He went on to note: “It is suspect that you can negotiate a Ukraine peace, an Iranian situation, a Gaza situation and whatever and be the same two people.”
Trump selected Witkoff as Special Envoy to the Middle East days after sweeping to victory in the 2024 presidential election. The appointment has drawn criticism from a number of high-profile Democrats, like Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), who point to Witkoff’s lack of foreign policy experience.
